Understanding Failure: Why It’s an Essential Part of University Success

Why are we so afraid of failure?

The modern culture of perfection pressures, not allowing us to be weak and saying we won't succeed if we make mistakes. It starts in childhood and continues in college:

High expectations from parents, teachers, and society in general, based on the stereotype that one should perform well to get a job and succeed in life, lead to students' stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout. Afraid to fail the expectations, they nurture the impostor syndrome, seek assistance from a professional admission essay writing service to manage their academic results, and are ready for everything to prevent a misstep.

But there is a catch:

Failure is an integral part of success. It's not a step backward but a lesson: It makes us move out of our comfort zone, teaches problem-solving, and promotes resilience. In fact, progressive companies often seek employees who don't focus only on their successes but can also reflect on their failures. That's because failures bring irreplaceable knowledge and perseverance from overcoming hardship.

Students should learn to accept failures and realize they don't symbolize the end of their lives and the collapse of their future successful careers. Quite the opposite: In university, we can benefit from failures and pave the road to success with them.

Here's how.

Why Failure Is Essential for Student Success in University:

• Failure fosters independence and responsibility.

The transition from high school to university is stressful and challenging for students:

Not only do they have to deal with a heavier academic workload, but they also learn to be independent.

Failures help with that, teaching youngsters to take responsibility for their decisions and actions. By doing something unfortunate or wrong, students experience self-reflection, which allows them to assess their strengths and weaknesses and become more independent learners.

• Failure teaches problem-solving and reinforces learning.

Facing failure pushes students to re-evaluate their approaches and find alternative solutions. It fosters problem-solving skills, which are crucial for academic and career success.

More than that:

Failures can reinforce learning. Instead of crying over low grades for tests or writing assignments, students can reflect on what didn't work and what they did wrong to revise concepts, strategies, and approaches. This deeper engagement often leads to a more vital understanding of the material.

Rather than giving up, students can reframe every failure as a challenge to do better next time.

• Failure encourages a growth mindset.

When we demonize and fear failure, we cultivate a negative mindset that prevents us from being proactive and successful. Why not view challenges and failures as opportunities to grow instead?

Such an approach will cultivate a growth mindset—the belief that abilities come through hard work and learning and that mistakes are a valuable part of the learning process. Students who see failures like this become more open to risks and stepping out of their comfort zones.

• Failure inspires innovation and creativity.

Let's face it:

College or university is the environment where we can fail safely. It is not the end of the world if a student fails a test or laboratory experiment, and this failure will not affect their general knowledge or future career. However, it may inspire some innovative ideas or approaches to work and lead to creative breakthroughs.

• Failure builds emotional intelligence.

Experiencing some kinds of failure in college enhances self-awareness and helps students better understand others' feelings. They learn how to manage frustration, disappointment, and other emotions, which will help them deal with stress, conflicts, and other not-that-pleasant situations on the way to success.

All these skills relate to emotional intelligence, the ability to understand, manage, and handle emotions constructively. It's about self-regulation, empathy, and the social skills we all need for efficient communication with the world.

• Failure promotes resilience and persistence.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back and keep going. Students develop this quality by learning to face challenges and overcome pitfalls in university, also fostering persistence to work toward their goals despite obstacles.

They'll also learn to know their limits. Resilience and persistence go hand in hand with self-awareness and prioritization:

There will always be moments when we must decide whether to put the brakes or keep the gas pedal going. Failures can help us understand our genuine interests and goals and surround ourselves with like-minded people who'll support us when we fall.

In a Word

Besides all of the above, failures prepare students for real-world challenges. They are a part of life beyond university, so why not learn how to navigate failure while you are in a supportive academic setting, building the mindset that will help you face challenges in your personal life and career?

As an American writer Suzy Kassem says, "Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will." So, let's not fear failure but rather fear not trying.